Thursday, 6 July 2017

5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays in a month – happens only every 823 years? This popular urban myth has been circulating on the internet for a while. However, it is precisely that: a myth.Before you get too excited about this once-in-a-lifetime event and start telling your family and friends, know this: any such claims are false. Special combinations of days like 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays occur much more often than every 823 years!In fact, a calendar month that contains 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays occur nearly every year. In 2019 March will have 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays.In fact, the calendar 823 years in the future is not even the same as the calendar of the month in the many versions of the hoax! For instance, August 2014 had 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. 823 years later, August 2837 has 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays, and 5 Mondays.August 2014 has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. The next time that the 2014 calendar repeats itself is in the year 2025, which is only 11 years later. What’s more, a calendar month that contains 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays occurs nearly every year: After August 2014, the next occurrence is in May 2015.The combinations of days these messages or emails refer to are also not very special. This is because the first 3 weekdays of any 31-day month are repeated 5 times within that month. So, any month that has 31 days and begins on a Friday will have 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. Similarly, any 31-day month that begins on a Tuesday, will have 5 Tuesdays, 5 Wednesdays, and 5 Thursdays.